Hello, I was just wondering if I could get some advice in starting to learn more about filmmaking. I want to focus in becoming a director or screenwriter. I am 15 years old, but I really don't know how to start or where to go from here. What would be the best University to go to, here in California, to study filmmaking, and what would be the best thing to major in? I also wanted to know what websites are good in teaching filmmaking and learning more about different jobs. Can you please break down filmmaking into subcategories for me? Like, other than director, screenwriter, editor, producer, and stuff like that, what other types is there? See, I am a little bit confused, but I really want to be a filmmaker when I grow up. I've been wanting to be this since I was in 8th grade. I just don't know anyone that can help me. Please help me!! I only have two more years to decide what I should be majoring in, and I just want to get started and hopefully do what I love to do....please, help!
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Amateur Filmmaker
- Thread starter bonegarden
- Start date
to the site!
Robert Rodriguez once said "You ARE a film-maker. The moment you think about that you want to be a film-maker you're that. Make yourself a business card that says you're a film-maker, pass them out to your friends, soon as you get that over with and you've got it in your mind that you're one you'll be one, you'll start thinking like one. Don't dream about being a film-maker, you are a film-maker."
Read this website:
http://www.geomatics.kth.se/sjoberg/homepage/10minutes.htm
Read this website:
http://www.geomatics.kth.se/sjoberg/homepage/10minutes.htm
WELCOME!!!
I can't suggest anything I haven't tried, so go out there, get a camera and start filming. That's the most fun and practical way. Then, when filmschool comes along you'll already have made the necessary mistakes, and have an advantage, and an appetite to learn.
Watch films.
Make films.
Pay attention to EVERYTHING and learn from it.
Spend money.
That's as much as I can say!
Welcome home.
-Logan-
I can't suggest anything I haven't tried, so go out there, get a camera and start filming. That's the most fun and practical way. Then, when filmschool comes along you'll already have made the necessary mistakes, and have an advantage, and an appetite to learn.
Watch films.
Make films.
Pay attention to EVERYTHING and learn from it.
Spend money.
That's as much as I can say!
Welcome home.
-Logan-
Welcome to IT. I've found that watching DVD's with Director's comments to be extremely enlightening and fun. Confusing at first maybe but most director's don't talk lingo when they know their audience so it doesn't happen often.
I really like Spatula's comment, just do it man.
I really like Spatula's comment, just do it man.
...well, for one thing, you have the luck of geography to be in Cali. I would think you could find stuff out there. I think UCLA and USC have good programs for filmmaking...that is if you can afford it....I couldn't go to film school cuz I couldn't afford that kind of money, but that isn't going to get in my way and it shouldn't get in yours either... Good Luck...
--spinner
--spinner
Well, I can sympathize. I'm a 14 1/2 year-old filmmaker with a nice little short under my belt. I was trying to film my second two days ago, and after shooting, I realized a couple of things: Firstly, I was doing too much. I thought I could go from 8 min to 23 min, and 3 people total to 7. No. Because of schedules and the sheer managing of people, we have to postpone 'til August (which means never). Also, I realized that I'm being way too formal and serious. I've insisted on my producer and I doing breakdown sheets for 8 min shorts 
. Geese, we're only 14. And even though being serious or having serious or semi-serious subject matter is okay and good, just remember that there's no reason to be a filmmaker if you're not going to be having fun doing it. So, even though it's really nice to have stuff organized, don't insist on breakdown sheets just yet. 
. Geese, we're only 14. And even though being serious or having serious or semi-serious subject matter is okay and good, just remember that there's no reason to be a filmmaker if you're not going to be having fun doing it. So, even though it's really nice to have stuff organized, don't insist on breakdown sheets just yet. 
How to start...
bonegarden,
The best way to start is by doing it... See if making a short film is what you envision it to be. Lots of people think filmmaking and or becoming a filmmaker is a great occupation... And it is. But by the same token, lots of people go get a camera or camcorder, give it a try and realize they simply aren't cut out for it.
In addition to making some short films with your friends, get magazines... FILMMAKER, MOVIEMAKER, AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER, INDIE SLATE, etc... If you can't buy 'em, go to the bookstore and read through them every month... Take notes. Maybe your library can subscribe to them. Along with the magazines and making short films, start reading.
There are a lot of great books out there... Too many to recommend but almost certainly, something can be learned from each one so start reading them. If you can't find a lot of books at your local bookstores, a great way to find out about good books is to simply go to Amazon.com and do a search for:
FILMMAKING
SCREENWRITING
You'll find a lots of names of books out there... Get your library to order them if you can't buy them yourself.
When you have questions, come back here and ask away... We will do our best to steer you in the right direction.
California has some outstanding colleges with film programs... USC, UCLA, CHAPMAN, among others... Through all the reading of books and magazines, you should be able to figure out what capacity of filmmaking turns you on the most... Unfortunately, college is geared more toward screenwriting, acting, directing, cinematography, etc... If you decide you simply want to be an electrician, that's a different story altogether. It's best to try and get trained and then get into a union.
If money's a problem, one of the best ways to break in is to learn screenwriting through and through... I only mention this because I'm a filmmaker/screenwriter but it has been my screenwriting that has done the most for me as for getting a foot in the door and you mention it in your post.
You don't have to go to college to learn screenwriting... There are a ton of books out there... I should know... LOL. I have them all. After you read through all of them two or three times and write a couple of screenplays, you just start getting the hang of it. From there, you'll realize that STRUCTURE is where it's at and then you'll do all you can to learn it as best you can.
Even as young as you are, you could be writing professional level screenplays within 3 years if you simply DIVE in and learn it...
Hope this gives you a few ideas on where to start... Good luck!
filmy
bonegarden said:
bonegarden,
The best way to start is by doing it... See if making a short film is what you envision it to be. Lots of people think filmmaking and or becoming a filmmaker is a great occupation... And it is. But by the same token, lots of people go get a camera or camcorder, give it a try and realize they simply aren't cut out for it.
In addition to making some short films with your friends, get magazines... FILMMAKER, MOVIEMAKER, AMERICAN CINEMATOGRAPHER, INDIE SLATE, etc... If you can't buy 'em, go to the bookstore and read through them every month... Take notes. Maybe your library can subscribe to them. Along with the magazines and making short films, start reading.
There are a lot of great books out there... Too many to recommend but almost certainly, something can be learned from each one so start reading them. If you can't find a lot of books at your local bookstores, a great way to find out about good books is to simply go to Amazon.com and do a search for:
FILMMAKING
SCREENWRITING
You'll find a lots of names of books out there... Get your library to order them if you can't buy them yourself.
When you have questions, come back here and ask away... We will do our best to steer you in the right direction.
California has some outstanding colleges with film programs... USC, UCLA, CHAPMAN, among others... Through all the reading of books and magazines, you should be able to figure out what capacity of filmmaking turns you on the most... Unfortunately, college is geared more toward screenwriting, acting, directing, cinematography, etc... If you decide you simply want to be an electrician, that's a different story altogether. It's best to try and get trained and then get into a union.
If money's a problem, one of the best ways to break in is to learn screenwriting through and through... I only mention this because I'm a filmmaker/screenwriter but it has been my screenwriting that has done the most for me as for getting a foot in the door and you mention it in your post.
You don't have to go to college to learn screenwriting... There are a ton of books out there... I should know... LOL. I have them all. After you read through all of them two or three times and write a couple of screenplays, you just start getting the hang of it. From there, you'll realize that STRUCTURE is where it's at and then you'll do all you can to learn it as best you can.
Even as young as you are, you could be writing professional level screenplays within 3 years if you simply DIVE in and learn it...
Hope this gives you a few ideas on where to start... Good luck!
filmy
The best way to get started is to direct.
Here's MY suggestion. Find someone with a video camera - it doesn't have to be top of the line. Find a script - I suggest starting with One Act plays: they usually have few actors and only one setting. I suggest Albee's The Zoo Story - but there are thousands to choose from; ask at your library.
Find actors your age and skill level. If your school has a drama department there will be plenty of wannabe actors there. If not, check near by towns to see if there is a small theater doing plays. Sometimes when you start looking, you get surprised.
Read the play with the actors and your camera person. As they read it think of shots you’d like to see: what’s important at each moment.
Then shoot it. I suggest Zoo Story because it takes place outside - you can shoot on the weekend in a local park.
If your first one sucks - make a second one. If that one is terrible make a third one. If your first ten movies aren’t as good as you want them to be, make number eleven. Make a short movie once a month - a different play each time - for six months. During that six months people will see you're serious and more and more people will want to help. You will learn more by doing this than you would reading 20 books and taking 20 classes.
By no means a complete list - but here are few positions that are needed to make a film:
PRE-PRODUCTION
Writer
Producer
Executive Producer
Associate Producer
Production Assistant
Casting Director
Production Coordinator
Production Manager
Location Scout
Prop Builder
Production Designer
Art Director
Set Designer
Storyboard Artist
Production
First Assistant Director
Second Assistant Director
Second Second Assistant Director
Production Assistant
Line Producer
Stunt Coordinator
Location Manager
Script & Continuity
Casting Director
Set Construction Coordinator
Set Decorator
Set Dresser
Swing Gang
Food Stylist
Director of Photography
Camera Operator
First Assistant Camera
Second Assistant Camera/Loader
Steadicam Operator
Stills Photographer
Gaffer
Electrician
Best Boy
Key Grip
Dolly Grip
Grip
Rigging Grip
Location Sound Recordist/Mixer
Location Boom Operator
Special Effects Coordinator
Pyrotechnician
Transportation Coordinator
Transportation Driver
Key Make-Up Artist
Make-Up Artist, Special Effects
Key Hair Stylist
Key Wardrobe
Wardrobe Buyer/Stylist Assistant
Caterer/Location
Post Production
Post Production Supervisor
Film Editor
Video Editor
Editing Assistant
Sound Supervisor
Dialogue Editor
Sound Effects
Sound Mixer
Foley Artist
Foley Recordist
ADR Recordist
ADR Editor
Composer
Arranger
Conductor
Musicians
Titles Designer
Negative Cutter
Publicist
Here's MY suggestion. Find someone with a video camera - it doesn't have to be top of the line. Find a script - I suggest starting with One Act plays: they usually have few actors and only one setting. I suggest Albee's The Zoo Story - but there are thousands to choose from; ask at your library.
Find actors your age and skill level. If your school has a drama department there will be plenty of wannabe actors there. If not, check near by towns to see if there is a small theater doing plays. Sometimes when you start looking, you get surprised.
Read the play with the actors and your camera person. As they read it think of shots you’d like to see: what’s important at each moment.
Then shoot it. I suggest Zoo Story because it takes place outside - you can shoot on the weekend in a local park.
If your first one sucks - make a second one. If that one is terrible make a third one. If your first ten movies aren’t as good as you want them to be, make number eleven. Make a short movie once a month - a different play each time - for six months. During that six months people will see you're serious and more and more people will want to help. You will learn more by doing this than you would reading 20 books and taking 20 classes.
By no means a complete list - but here are few positions that are needed to make a film:
PRE-PRODUCTION
Writer
Producer
Executive Producer
Associate Producer
Production Assistant
Casting Director
Production Coordinator
Production Manager
Location Scout
Prop Builder
Production Designer
Art Director
Set Designer
Storyboard Artist
Production
First Assistant Director
Second Assistant Director
Second Second Assistant Director
Production Assistant
Line Producer
Stunt Coordinator
Location Manager
Script & Continuity
Casting Director
Set Construction Coordinator
Set Decorator
Set Dresser
Swing Gang
Food Stylist
Director of Photography
Camera Operator
First Assistant Camera
Second Assistant Camera/Loader
Steadicam Operator
Stills Photographer
Gaffer
Electrician
Best Boy
Key Grip
Dolly Grip
Grip
Rigging Grip
Location Sound Recordist/Mixer
Location Boom Operator
Special Effects Coordinator
Pyrotechnician
Transportation Coordinator
Transportation Driver
Key Make-Up Artist
Make-Up Artist, Special Effects
Key Hair Stylist
Key Wardrobe
Wardrobe Buyer/Stylist Assistant
Caterer/Location
Post Production
Post Production Supervisor
Film Editor
Video Editor
Editing Assistant
Sound Supervisor
Dialogue Editor
Sound Effects
Sound Mixer
Foley Artist
Foley Recordist
ADR Recordist
ADR Editor
Composer
Arranger
Conductor
Musicians
Titles Designer
Negative Cutter
Publicist
Whoa!!
Easy fellas...Listen up bone garden...don't get too bogged down in what you "should" do. There are absolutely NO rules to filmmaking. It's a form of art. Don't ever let anyone tell you differently....Film is actually a relatively new form of art as compared with others a la painting, sculpting ect... This means we've barely scratched the surface of it's capabilities.... Open your mind and let it take you places you've never been.... I try to study people everywhere I go...Watch there reactions to things....I read voraciously...not just filmmaking handbooks and mags...everything....I study all films....not just the ones considered the greats...all of them..After all, how can you develope a sense of what's good and bad to you in u only watch the ones "others" consider good.....Above all else, I wish you luck...If only I had discovered filmmaking at your age... - Jared
Easy fellas...Listen up bone garden...don't get too bogged down in what you "should" do. There are absolutely NO rules to filmmaking. It's a form of art. Don't ever let anyone tell you differently....Film is actually a relatively new form of art as compared with others a la painting, sculpting ect... This means we've barely scratched the surface of it's capabilities.... Open your mind and let it take you places you've never been.... I try to study people everywhere I go...Watch there reactions to things....I read voraciously...not just filmmaking handbooks and mags...everything....I study all films....not just the ones considered the greats...all of them..After all, how can you develope a sense of what's good and bad to you in u only watch the ones "others" consider good.....Above all else, I wish you luck...If only I had discovered filmmaking at your age... - Jared
Just ask yourself this one question. Whats my genre ( ie horror , drama, sci-fi)and start there!
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All of the advice above is good. I find "what you must do to be a filmmaker"
(I've been one since I was 14) is make a film. That means, as Stanley Kubrick said,
"Get a camera and film and make any kind of film at all."
It is very easy to worry about the rules, or if there are rules.
Whether filmmaking is an art or if it is a business.
Whether you should make breakdown sheets for each script,
or even whether you need a script at all!
It is very easy to worry and discuss endlessly.
To the point where you don't shoot a frame.
You need to shoot frames, and cut them together,
add sound and music, and get it done.
Even if the result is terrible, you have succeeded.
You will be ahead of everybody else, who's only talking about making film.
You will have made the most important change - within yourself.
You will have grown.
There is no shortcut.
Do you know this saying?
"After all is said and done, more is said than done."
-- Aesop
Except that it was written 500 years BC,
it might have been written about filmmaking.
Talking or writing about film is not making film.
Meetings are not filmmaking.
Dealmaking is not filmmaking.
Scriptwriting is not filmmaking.
School is not filmmaking.
All those things are good, even sometimes necessary.
They can be parts of filmmaking, but avoid getting bogged down in them.
They are not filmmaking, and you only learn filmmaking, from filmmaking.
Pick up a camera, and get going!
(I've been one since I was 14) is make a film. That means, as Stanley Kubrick said,
"Get a camera and film and make any kind of film at all."
It is very easy to worry about the rules, or if there are rules.
Whether filmmaking is an art or if it is a business.
Whether you should make breakdown sheets for each script,
or even whether you need a script at all!
It is very easy to worry and discuss endlessly.
To the point where you don't shoot a frame.
You need to shoot frames, and cut them together,
add sound and music, and get it done.
Even if the result is terrible, you have succeeded.
You will be ahead of everybody else, who's only talking about making film.
You will have made the most important change - within yourself.
You will have grown.
There is no shortcut.
Do you know this saying?
"After all is said and done, more is said than done."
-- Aesop
Except that it was written 500 years BC,
it might have been written about filmmaking.
Talking or writing about film is not making film.
Meetings are not filmmaking.
Dealmaking is not filmmaking.
Scriptwriting is not filmmaking.
School is not filmmaking.
All those things are good, even sometimes necessary.
They can be parts of filmmaking, but avoid getting bogged down in them.
They are not filmmaking, and you only learn filmmaking, from filmmaking.
Pick up a camera, and get going!
Last edited:
Hey there.
I'm from England so I can't really advise on the academic side of things in the states, and without wishing to sound too vague, I think the best practical advice is to just put yourself out there and be willing to do as much as you can to be recognised in the way that you want.
A good grounding as I'm sure you're already aware is to simply observe what it is that you love about the techniques of film making, and, as is the case with any other medium, expect everything to have been attempted already - then stop and think further: How can this be improved, twisted, and personalized?
Again, as I'm sure you're aware, a lot of becoming a success as a film-maker (of which I assure you I know absolutely nothing) is down to pure luck. Harrison Ford got involved with George Lucas by incidentally meeting Lucas on a job fixing Lucas's kitchen cabinets: Bam! Han Solo/Indiana Jones...
So just make as much as you can, to the most exacting level of quality you can achieve.
At least, that's what I reckon.
Also, a site that I wish I had when I was younger (bear in mind the internet didn't exist until I was way older than your good self) is Videocopilot. Just for tips on after effects & 3dsMax mostly, but there's some great stuff to whet a young film-maker's appetite.
I'm from England so I can't really advise on the academic side of things in the states, and without wishing to sound too vague, I think the best practical advice is to just put yourself out there and be willing to do as much as you can to be recognised in the way that you want.
A good grounding as I'm sure you're already aware is to simply observe what it is that you love about the techniques of film making, and, as is the case with any other medium, expect everything to have been attempted already - then stop and think further: How can this be improved, twisted, and personalized?
Again, as I'm sure you're aware, a lot of becoming a success as a film-maker (of which I assure you I know absolutely nothing) is down to pure luck. Harrison Ford got involved with George Lucas by incidentally meeting Lucas on a job fixing Lucas's kitchen cabinets: Bam! Han Solo/Indiana Jones...
So just make as much as you can, to the most exacting level of quality you can achieve.
At least, that's what I reckon.
Also, a site that I wish I had when I was younger (bear in mind the internet didn't exist until I was way older than your good self) is Videocopilot. Just for tips on after effects & 3dsMax mostly, but there's some great stuff to whet a young film-maker's appetite.
@ The Jimmy & Luke Show
bonegarden posted one time SEVEN years ago and never posted again.
I suspect he will not read your posts. Perhaps offer advice is a more
current thread would be better?
But since you bumped this seven year old post wouldn't it be inteeresting
to know what the 22 year old bonegarden is doing now? Did he ever read
the answers to his question? Did he go to the best university in California?
Did he ever make a short film?
bonegarden posted one time SEVEN years ago and never posted again.
I suspect he will not read your posts. Perhaps offer advice is a more
current thread would be better?
But since you bumped this seven year old post wouldn't it be inteeresting
to know what the 22 year old bonegarden is doing now? Did he ever read
the answers to his question? Did he go to the best university in California?
Did he ever make a short film?